No. 18 Oklahoma (4-2, 1-2 SEC) lost to No. 1 Texas (5-0, 2-0 SEC) 34-3 at the Red River Rivalry game in Dallas on Saturday.
Here is what OU head coach Brent Venables said postgame:
“I am disappointed obviously in the outcome. We couldn’t sustain some of the momentum that we had in the first quarter with our defense. We had plenty of opportunities in the first half, and we had a couple of turnovers that led to touchdowns as well. We had some good moments on defense today and we had some really bad moments when we needed to be at our best and we weren’t. Whatever we did bad on that field today, starts with me, and I have to do a better job having these guys prepared and ready toplay.”
“I thought (Texas) they did a great job of sustaining the run and being efficient at it, while I thought that we were sloppy at times setting the edges. I didn’t think that we played very disciplined and physical football like we needed to today to give ourselves a chance. I felt that our coverage units, for the most part, were pretty good as well.”
“We are four and two, and have the back half of the season sitting in front of us. We have a lot of work to do and have got to continue to get better.”
On his first impressions of Texas:
I have not seen a lot of teams play as well as they have in all three phases of the game. They (Texas) have got a good team and are good in all of the right places. They have explosive playmakers and have a really good defense as well. They have a lot of experience as well on their team and have great players.”
On the offense:
“We have not been very good this season on offense, and have to overall improve in every aspect of the offense. We have to continue to help these guys and especially those who are inexperienced. I thought that there were a lot of really good things that we saw in the first half, and having the ability to sustain those things in the first half was what we missed today.”
On how Texas defended the offense and Micheal Hawkins Jr.:
“They (Texas) had a consistent run defense, which put the offense in a position to be one-dimensional and more predictable as well. We had too many third and longs and when you do that against a team that can rush the passer and play great in coverage, the window becomes tighter.
“They closed the middle of the field quite a bit as well. We had a few opportunities in those intermediate routes at times, which was nice and certainly need to do it more often. So, overall it was a combination of their physicality, tight coverage, and good run defense.”
On his outlook for the rest of the season after this loss:
“I’ve been coaching football for 30 years and there’s been plenty of wins and plenty of losses along the way. It’s about being a competitor, leader, and someone who is highly invested in caring for his teammates and their opportunities. You have to fight back and take ownership of all of your work whether it is good and bad, and that’s for everybody in this organization. Then you have to start back up and start all over again, and that’s what you have to do. You have to move forward, learn from it, grow, and dust yourself off and go right back at it again.”